Play War Thunder now with my link, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters and more: playwt.link/jarekgamingdragonwt Thanks to every one that joined me on twitch! Streaming VR is a pain but a ton of fun! If you want to hang out in the future, consider giving a follow! www.twitch.tv/jarek4gamingdragon
Can't wait for you to mention how Episode Two fixed the whole flashlight situation by making it have a separate power supply rather than using more power whenever you sprint.
episode one got one of my favorite fps sequence of all time. that one elevator ride in the dark when you got flares and fast zombies are rushing you. it's such fun sequence. that i often realized that the elevator already arrived but i still keep fighting.
I read a... thing... by Kelly Bailey a while back -- unfortunately haven't a clue where it was -- where he said that the guitar that comes in the music track that plays in the hospital was meant to feel like a Big Deal. In context, an "earth instrument" coming in over all those cold and impersonal digital synths, even kinda glitched-out as it was, represented the balance of power beginning to shift. Thought that was neat :)
If anyone is thinking about replaying this then I strongly suggest going for the One Free Bullet achievement as it makes a repeat playthrough a lot more fun. Otherwise it's hard to not notice how similar this feels to the late chapters of HL2 with a few exceptions. Regarding Barney while his model doesn't appear in EP2 and he isn't mentioned, one of his voice lines is used when you come back to White Forest after the battle with the Striders though it could be just a case of one of his voice lines being reused accidentally.
Yeah I did that last time I played it, to finally reach 100% achievements for the game. I enjoyed that a lot more than the gnome achievement in ep2 which was a chore and something I never want to do again.
You can tell Valve was experimenting and throwing things at the wall when they made Episode 1, like they really wanted to show the spectacle of escaping City 17, including getting to see the Citadel blow up, but then they realized that would make a really short game, so everything leading to it just feels like filler. It still speaks well of Half-Life when their weakest game is only weak because of how forgettable it is compared to the main game and Episode 2. Man, I miss the days when Valve used to actually make games...
I think the biggest issue is they were doing the episodic thing. I think they, as you said, started throwing ideas at the wall then got to a point where they said, "hey, we have to at least release SOMETHING" and that's how we got Episode 1 and why 2 feels a lot stronger by comparison.
I loved Episode 1. I replayed it like two years ago and it was much better than I remembered it from the 2000s. It's feels to be more of a technothriller than Half Life 2. The climatic moments at the Citadel with amazing music and mystery breathing down your neck are one of the best things that happened in Half Life's universe.
I have been on and off replaying the HL2 series for awhile now. I'm about a quarter way through this Episode... It was honestly very good imo. Many of some very notable moments in the entire story happened in that game.
When I saw the cover of episode 1, I thought you would play as Alyx and it would lead to different gameplay (as opposing forces shifted things up). Then I finally played and realized it was more Half-life 2 (which is not bad, I just was expecting bigger changes)
That godawful escort mission at the end will never be forgotten. Going into the Citadel's core was an aesthetically pleasing moment though. Probably the sexiest looking area in the entire HL2 trilogy IMO. But yeah, this game is definitely the Blue Shift of HL2
I enjoyed the escort mission tbh. It was a nice change of pace from the constant forward progress of the rest of the games. You got a chance to become familiar with the path and they would change it up a bit during each subsequent attempt
I have a serious issue with EP1 because I got into a softlock in Exit City 17 where the last citizens you escort keep reappearing. Basically you just keep escorting them again and again without getting new supplies. Yeah there's ammo but no health. And then that fight to the train is a complete slog
Forgotten... but not gone. Wait, that doesn't even make sense! 😵💫 Most memorable part for me was when Alyx freaks out after the train crashes and a stalker's bearing down on her. Genuine human reaction 💯
Episode 1 was so forgettable. The only part remember in detail was the hospital fight. Seeing the citadel core is still visually impressive even today as well
I always loved Episode 1 because it didn’t leave Half Life 2 on the cliffhanger I assumed we would get. But then I started to dislike Episode 2 because THAT gave us a cliffhanger we would never get a resolution to. Episode 3 I waited so long for, but considering I waited 5 years? Between half life 1 and 2, and 7 years between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, I wasn’t beyond waiting patiently. And 2007.. man we got orange box AND Halo 3! Such a fantastic year for me, It was just good all around
I fucking hate the fact that blue shift is always brought up in a negative tone. I love blue shift when you pair it in conjunction with OP4 more then the base game.
I don't think people forget about this game at all. They just lump it in with episode 2 as if they were just one big expansion, which makes sense since most people played it through The Orange Box.
That's what I noticed about Episode 1, it's not bad it's just not outstanding. Blue Shift gets a lot of shit for not being another Opposing Force but at least Gearbox still managed to do something interesting with it. Episode 1 doesn't introduce anything that new other than the flares (which I don't really care about) and the zombines which are a pretty good enemy type. Valve did add some extra touches though like how Alyx reacts to Gordon's flashlight in her eyes or when she hits a zombie. Episode 1 mainly just exists to peddle the story along between Half-Life 2 and Episode 2 which has all of the new interesting stuff. Most of Episode 1 pertains to things already done in Half-Life 2 like the ruined cities. Half-Life 2 is still a good game, so if being more of Half-Life 2 is the worst it gets, it's not that bad. There are some neat things about Episode 1 that I do like. I like the electrified water puzzle in the hospital, I like how you can snatch zombine grenades, I love songs like Disrupted Original, Self-Destruction and Penultimatum, the gunship battle in the attic, also the warehouse during the citizen escourt section which no one talks about. The rest of the section in the parking lot is a drag because it's pretty much the same with every pass, Combine soldiers and Civil Protection keep coming. In the warehouse meanwhile the layout changes with each pass. Everything gets more and more destroyed each time which changes the layout, whole trains get shifted and part of the catwalk breaks. Therefore, you have to change up your approach every time to take the new layout into account which keeps the gameplay a little fresh. Still nothing outstanding yet thinking back I appreciate it.
I didn't mention the warehouse bit because it's basically the same as the courtyard. The small changes aren't enough to make me feel like I'm not doing the same thing over and over.
@@Jarekthegamingdragon I haven't touched Episode 1 in a good while so maybe I'm thinking back too fondly on it. An idea I've had for the parking lot is what if Gordon had the bugbait with him? The player could get it from that one antlion guardian by the mounted turret earlier on, then antlions could show up in the parking lot at the end to keep the Combine busy while citizens sneak past. It would be nothing new but it would be better than the retail version. Maybe have borrows in the parking lot that Gordon has to uncover with the gravity gun, allowing the player to break the rules.
Ive always kinda wished valve kept the episodes as half life 2 aftermath, used more strider fights in city 17, and used the wasteland in place of the forest in episode 2
My opinion of Episode 1 was always that the opening absolutely kicks ass, but everything after that ranges from "Yeah this is more Half Life 2" to "UUUUGH"
the 4 player escort was a partial engine limit (I think there was some effort to have a bunch of unarmed civilian come out whit the 4 you "escort"). that would hide and follow the player between the rooms but did not work. so it become you escorting the 4 guards. and no the game did not like having more then 4 NPC following the player. Alex and Barney uses some weird tricks to work (reason why you can´t see there status in the HUD).
I 100% agree with everything you said. Even when it came out I hated playing the defense/escort part. I also didn't remember ANYTHING about the plot other than you get on a train and leave City 17.
I love the shorter half life games cause i'm always short on time and i like just jumping on listening to some music and vibing. i don't like stop and starts most of the time.
Love when youtubers say this "...First I have to mention the people who made this video possible..." ~Ad segment~ Isn't it your audience and viewers who make it possible along with the Ads?
RUclips revenue fluctuates WILDLY. Pay is as low as $600 some times. Sponsors are currently paying more than youtube does. I have to pay bills and rent. While I appreciate my viewers, sponsors are what allow me to make this my job or the videos wouldn't exist at all.
@@Jarekthegamingdragon Oh? I thought RUclips pay went back up to a point where people could live and pay bills, if need be. I thought Ads were just a way to gain even more. What a shame.
@@PVTC01 RUclips pay has always been inconsistent. It just dips real hard any time the economy is struggling. It's also unreliable. Sponsors give financial security that we won't have other wise.
@@PVTC01 There's not really any way to fix that. When the economy is struggling, youtube gets less companies paying for ads on their site which is where youtube revenue comes from, when there's less ads to go around, you get less money whether you get views or not. On top of that, your views are at the whim of youtube's algorithm. It's a very unreliable source of income and it's why you'll see every youtuber accept sponsorships directly.
It's based on Episode 2's version of the source engine. Surprised you don't you have episode 2. I'm sure you'll end up playing both. It's pretty cheap and goes on sale often.
HL2 EP1 I love I was just about to be 7 at the time EP1 released my dad and brother bought it I loved it I was a bit disappointed it was short but at the same time I expected it the soundtrack though was awesome my favourite is Guard Down and the Hospital one there was something about Episode One that I loved idk what but in the end from containing the reactor to fighting through the zombies underground to the combat in the streets and the icing on the cake was seeing the citidal explode that was another thing about ep1 I kept looking at the citidal worried on the state it was in going are we gonna make it? But overall? It was fun I’ve played it so many times combined with playing coop on synergy
I was one of the guys who ended up liking it more than two. Idk, I think the overfocus in the Gravity Gun, as fun it is, reduces a bit from my enjoyment
I agree with your sentiment overall, but still think ep1 is good. It felt like a greatest hits highlight reel of HL2 which is both its strength and its weakness. Everything in it was well done IMO, but nothing was really new other than reprogramming the roller mines which was basically forgotten once you left the citadel. Despite those complaints I still enjoyed it when I replayed it a year or so ago
In my opinion episode 1 is just kinda boring. It is full of gimmicks that you actually have to follow. The only good part was the zombie elevator sequence. But fighting zombies in general is kinda boring. But that was an amazing set piece nevertheless. Just wished it had more normal combat. It felt like a collection of gimmicks. Episode 2 was also kinda gimmicky. But at least it had way more normal combat.
hey jarek i have a interesting request can you post your streams so i can rewatch them in case i miss a stream hopefully if it isn’t too much of a hassle for you #this is mostly me wanting to watch your halo streams
I always think of Ep 1 and 2 as one game rather then two different ones. As such I have to agree, Ep 1 is just more of the same and rather mid. It's my least favorite. Personally I quite liked Blue Shift. It's considered the worst because it was short and didn't introduce much new game-play or gadgets/weapons. New hi res models in a low res environment isn't "new features". Also, Opposing Force raised the bar REALLY high for Half-life expansions especially coming from Gearbox at the time. I found the game-play and story of Blue Shift quite tight and fun though.
I was very disappointed by Episode 1, since it was so short and so uninventive compared to Half-Life 2. They could have at least let you command/use the Ant-Lions in Episode 1, since it was such an enjoyable game mechanic in HL2. Or brought back some of the weapons and enemies from Half-Life 1. Seeing the Snarks and Bull-squids from HL1 would have been great. Even better would have been if Episode 1 had some enemies and weapons from Opposing Force, but that was probably impossible for copyright reasons.
I got bored of the citadel in og half-life 2, just felt really bland and boring. So it being the first chunk of episode one wasn’t doing it for me. I like fighting the ant lions cause it reminds me of starship troopers. But I DONT like having to close the holes with the gray gun and cars, thought it was kinda lame.
I never played the episodes, about to play episode two after finishing one. Underwhelming at best and frustrating at worst. That last fight with the strider was just a slog, mostly an environmental clusterf***.
Play War Thunder now with my link, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters and more: playwt.link/jarekgamingdragonwt
Thanks to every one that joined me on twitch! Streaming VR is a pain but a ton of fun! If you want to hang out in the future, consider giving a follow! www.twitch.tv/jarek4gamingdragon
Can't wait for you to mention how Episode Two fixed the whole flashlight situation by making it have a separate power supply rather than using more power whenever you sprint.
episode one got one of my favorite fps sequence of all time. that one elevator ride in the dark when you got flares and fast zombies are rushing you. it's such fun sequence. that i often realized that the elevator already arrived but i still keep fighting.
That gave me nightmares
I remenber this survival horror part too.
I just wish Valve didn't make it easier. I enjoyed it most when I played it on launch.
I was 11 when I first played ep1 and it gave me major nightmares for a month.
Honestly, the flashlight kinda ruins it. playing with a mod makes way better though
Episode 1 being considered the “worst” really says a lot about the official Half Life games really.
I read a... thing... by Kelly Bailey a while back -- unfortunately haven't a clue where it was -- where he said that the guitar that comes in the music track that plays in the hospital was meant to feel like a Big Deal. In context, an "earth instrument" coming in over all those cold and impersonal digital synths, even kinda glitched-out as it was, represented the balance of power beginning to shift.
Thought that was neat :)
The soundtrack in ep1 had much more "human" instruments which was always cool to me
Episode 1 is still the peak of escort NPC design and still hasn't been matched since.
Escort pc you mean :)
If anyone is thinking about replaying this then I strongly suggest going for the One Free Bullet achievement as it makes a repeat playthrough a lot more fun. Otherwise it's hard to not notice how similar this feels to the late chapters of HL2 with a few exceptions.
Regarding Barney while his model doesn't appear in EP2 and he isn't mentioned, one of his voice lines is used when you come back to White Forest after the battle with the Striders though it could be just a case of one of his voice lines being reused accidentally.
Yeah I did that last time I played it, to finally reach 100% achievements for the game. I enjoyed that a lot more than the gnome achievement in ep2 which was a chore and something I never want to do again.
You can tell Valve was experimenting and throwing things at the wall when they made Episode 1, like they really wanted to show the spectacle of escaping City 17, including getting to see the Citadel blow up, but then they realized that would make a really short game, so everything leading to it just feels like filler.
It still speaks well of Half-Life when their weakest game is only weak because of how forgettable it is compared to the main game and Episode 2.
Man, I miss the days when Valve used to actually make games...
I think the biggest issue is they were doing the episodic thing. I think they, as you said, started throwing ideas at the wall then got to a point where they said, "hey, we have to at least release SOMETHING" and that's how we got Episode 1 and why 2 feels a lot stronger by comparison.
"Valve. We used to make games. Now, we make money."
"What Kind Of Hospital Is This" is the best thing of Episode One tbh
One of the best tracks in the series.
I always try to get to the end before the song ends.
I loved Episode 1. I replayed it like two years ago and it was much better than I remembered it from the 2000s. It's feels to be more of a technothriller than Half Life 2. The climatic moments at the Citadel with amazing music and mystery breathing down your neck are one of the best things that happened in Half Life's universe.
Just got to episode 1 on my half life VR run, loving it so far
Ep1 has one of the funniest achievements ever, 1 free bullet!
Jarek just wanna say thank you for the consistency over the years and always making great videos. You’re the man brotha.
I have been on and off replaying the HL2 series for awhile now. I'm about a quarter way through this Episode... It was honestly very good imo. Many of some very notable moments in the entire story happened in that game.
When I saw the cover of episode 1, I thought you would play as Alyx and it would lead to different gameplay (as opposing forces shifted things up).
Then I finally played and realized it was more Half-life 2 (which is not bad, I just was expecting bigger changes)
Im glad they fixed the flashlight system
Orange box is a game industry's peak. Period.
Yep. The Orange Box + GMod brought me to PC as a primary. Been a good 13 years 😁
That godawful escort mission at the end will never be forgotten. Going into the Citadel's core was an aesthetically pleasing moment though. Probably the sexiest looking area in the entire HL2 trilogy IMO.
But yeah, this game is definitely the Blue Shift of HL2
I enjoyed the escort mission tbh. It was a nice change of pace from the constant forward progress of the rest of the games. You got a chance to become familiar with the path and they would change it up a bit during each subsequent attempt
I have a serious issue with EP1 because I got into a softlock in Exit City 17 where the last citizens you escort keep reappearing. Basically you just keep escorting them again and again without getting new supplies. Yeah there's ammo but no health. And then that fight to the train is a complete slog
Forgotten... but not gone. Wait, that doesn't even make sense! 😵💫
Most memorable part for me was when Alyx freaks out after the train crashes and a stalker's bearing down on her. Genuine human reaction 💯
The developer commentary of episode 1 and 2 are interesting. Wish there was one for HL2.
I'm going to cut this short. We may have been spotted.
"SHE'S GETTING AWAY!"
Episode 1 was so forgettable. The only part remember in detail was the hospital fight. Seeing the citadel core is still visually impressive even today as well
Remember when Episode 1 was called Aftermath?
Remember how episode 1 and 2 where meant to be the same game?
Sweet glad you talked about this episode
How its forgoten
Episode 1 its short but prity cool
I always loved Episode 1 because it didn’t leave Half Life 2 on the cliffhanger I assumed we would get. But then I started to dislike Episode 2 because THAT gave us a cliffhanger we would never get a resolution to.
Episode 3 I waited so long for, but considering I waited 5 years? Between half life 1 and 2, and 7 years between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, I wasn’t beyond waiting patiently.
And 2007.. man we got orange box AND Halo 3! Such a fantastic year for me,
It was just good all around
Never knew there were VR versions of this if that's what this is?
Mods, not official releases. Looks pretty high quality though!
0:00 *cry with no VR*
I fucking hate the fact that blue shift is always brought up in a negative tone. I love blue shift when you pair it in conjunction with OP4 more then the base game.
I don't think people forget about this game at all. They just lump it in with episode 2 as if they were just one big expansion, which makes sense since most people played it through The Orange Box.
That's what I noticed about Episode 1, it's not bad it's just not outstanding. Blue Shift gets a lot of shit for not being another Opposing Force but at least Gearbox still managed to do something interesting with it. Episode 1 doesn't introduce anything that new other than the flares (which I don't really care about) and the zombines which are a pretty good enemy type. Valve did add some extra touches though like how Alyx reacts to Gordon's flashlight in her eyes or when she hits a zombie. Episode 1 mainly just exists to peddle the story along between Half-Life 2 and Episode 2 which has all of the new interesting stuff. Most of Episode 1 pertains to things already done in Half-Life 2 like the ruined cities. Half-Life 2 is still a good game, so if being more of Half-Life 2 is the worst it gets, it's not that bad.
There are some neat things about Episode 1 that I do like. I like the electrified water puzzle in the hospital, I like how you can snatch zombine grenades, I love songs like Disrupted Original, Self-Destruction and Penultimatum, the gunship battle in the attic, also the warehouse during the citizen escourt section which no one talks about. The rest of the section in the parking lot is a drag because it's pretty much the same with every pass, Combine soldiers and Civil Protection keep coming. In the warehouse meanwhile the layout changes with each pass. Everything gets more and more destroyed each time which changes the layout, whole trains get shifted and part of the catwalk breaks. Therefore, you have to change up your approach every time to take the new layout into account which keeps the gameplay a little fresh. Still nothing outstanding yet thinking back I appreciate it.
I didn't mention the warehouse bit because it's basically the same as the courtyard. The small changes aren't enough to make me feel like I'm not doing the same thing over and over.
@@Jarekthegamingdragon I haven't touched Episode 1 in a good while so maybe I'm thinking back too fondly on it.
An idea I've had for the parking lot is what if Gordon had the bugbait with him? The player could get it from that one antlion guardian by the mounted turret earlier on, then antlions could show up in the parking lot at the end to keep the Combine busy while citizens sneak past. It would be nothing new but it would be better than the retail version. Maybe have borrows in the parking lot that Gordon has to uncover with the gravity gun, allowing the player to break the rules.
Ive always kinda wished valve kept the episodes as half life 2 aftermath, used more strider fights in city 17, and used the wasteland in place of the forest in episode 2
The forest was amazing and also they tried smth new
The reason I never replay this one as much is because I fucking hate the opening bit. I just want a gun
I love hospital level in EP1
I never understood the hate for Episode One. It was my favorite one, i really liked the C17 environment
My opinion of Episode 1 was always that the opening absolutely kicks ass, but everything after that ranges from "Yeah this is more Half Life 2" to "UUUUGH"
the 4 player escort was a partial engine limit (I think there was some effort to have a bunch of unarmed civilian come out whit the 4 you "escort").
that would hide and follow the player between the rooms but did not work.
so it become you escorting the 4 guards.
and no the game did not like having more then 4 NPC following the player.
Alex and Barney uses some weird tricks to work (reason why you can´t see there status in the HUD).
Ah yes, HL2 Episode 1
I remember liking it, I just don't remember anything about it
I've got to be the asshole who points out that Half Life Alyx is actually the game that takes the longest to get the crowbar in. 😈
"This is the longest you go without a crowbar, *unless the Half-Life game didn't have a crowbar."* Nice try but you failed.
I 100% agree with everything you said. Even when it came out I hated playing the defense/escort part. I also didn't remember ANYTHING about the plot other than you get on a train and leave City 17.
Almost 20 years since Half Life 2 and we STILL don't have a conlusion to the story!!
I love the shorter half life games cause i'm always short on time and i like just jumping on listening to some music and vibing. i don't like stop and starts most of the time.
By this point I was just done with City 17 location. I liked it in the beginning of 2 but it overstayed its welcome
Love when youtubers say this "...First I have to mention the people who made this video possible..." ~Ad segment~ Isn't it your audience and viewers who make it possible along with the Ads?
RUclips revenue fluctuates WILDLY. Pay is as low as $600 some times. Sponsors are currently paying more than youtube does. I have to pay bills and rent. While I appreciate my viewers, sponsors are what allow me to make this my job or the videos wouldn't exist at all.
@@Jarekthegamingdragon Oh? I thought RUclips pay went back up to a point where people could live and pay bills, if need be. I thought Ads were just a way to gain even more. What a shame.
@@PVTC01 RUclips pay has always been inconsistent. It just dips real hard any time the economy is struggling. It's also unreliable. Sponsors give financial security that we won't have other wise.
@@Jarekthegamingdragon Hopefully the new CEO will change RUclips's income system, unlikely but you never know.
@@PVTC01 There's not really any way to fix that. When the economy is struggling, youtube gets less companies paying for ads on their site which is where youtube revenue comes from, when there's less ads to go around, you get less money whether you get views or not. On top of that, your views are at the whim of youtube's algorithm. It's a very unreliable source of income and it's why you'll see every youtuber accept sponsorships directly.
ep 1 is fine outside of that awful escort section that i thought was bugged cos it just kept going on and on and on
Is it something kids do these days to dislike Opposing Force? I have never met anyone who didn't like it when it came out.
Who said any thing about disliking opposing force?
Funny story, Jarek. i recently finished Episode 1 recently. welp. i hope you talk about episode 2 a month later
well I have episode one on steam, and I wanted o play episode one on VR, but it requires episode two, wtf vr modders
It's based on Episode 2's version of the source engine. Surprised you don't you have episode 2. I'm sure you'll end up playing both. It's pretty cheap and goes on sale often.
I played episode 2 before episode 1
Jarek, would you do HL2 beta mod like Raising The Bar Redux or Dark Interval?
Kinda like to know your opinion
Jarek I did the same thing with halo reach, went to my local GameStop waited, and was told it was the same date next year 😢
HL2 EP1 I love I was just about to be 7 at the time EP1 released my dad and brother bought it I loved it I was a bit disappointed it was short but at the same time I expected it the soundtrack though was awesome my favourite is Guard Down and the Hospital one there was something about Episode One that I loved idk what but in the end from containing the reactor to fighting through the zombies underground to the combat in the streets and the icing on the cake was seeing the citidal explode that was another thing about ep1 I kept looking at the citidal worried on the state it was in going are we gonna make it? But overall? It was fun I’ve played it so many times combined with playing coop on synergy
I was one of the guys who ended up liking it more than two. Idk, I think the overfocus in the Gravity Gun, as fun it is, reduces a bit from my enjoyment
I agree with your sentiment overall, but still think ep1 is good. It felt like a greatest hits highlight reel of HL2 which is both its strength and its weakness. Everything in it was well done IMO, but nothing was really new other than reprogramming the roller mines which was basically forgotten once you left the citadel. Despite those complaints I still enjoyed it when I replayed it a year or so ago
I still prefer EP1 over 2 to be honest.
The start is a little rough, but once you get back into the city it gets way more fun.
Love finding your videos on some of my favorite games over the years you’re one of the good ones
sweet, the facecam is back
In my opinion episode 1 is just kinda boring. It is full of gimmicks that you actually have to follow. The only good part was the zombie elevator sequence. But fighting zombies in general is kinda boring. But that was an amazing set piece nevertheless. Just wished it had more normal combat. It felt like a collection of gimmicks. Episode 2 was also kinda gimmicky. But at least it had way more normal combat.
hey jarek i have a interesting request can you post your streams so i can rewatch them in case i miss a stream hopefully if it isn’t too much of a hassle for you #this is mostly me wanting to watch your halo streams
also sorry for the weird link sorry about this was not meant to be there
Streams get exported to my secondary channel. @JarekTheGamingDragonTV
thanks so much! plus im a fan of your content keep doing what your doing!
I always think of Ep 1 and 2 as one game rather then two different ones. As such I have to agree, Ep 1 is just more of the same and rather mid. It's my least favorite.
Personally I quite liked Blue Shift. It's considered the worst because it was short and didn't introduce much new game-play or gadgets/weapons. New hi res models in a low res environment isn't "new features". Also, Opposing Force raised the bar REALLY high for Half-life expansions especially coming from Gearbox at the time.
I found the game-play and story of Blue Shift quite tight and fun though.
I was very disappointed by Episode 1, since it was so short and so uninventive compared to Half-Life 2. They could have at least let you command/use the Ant-Lions in Episode 1, since it was such an enjoyable game mechanic in HL2. Or brought back some of the weapons and enemies from Half-Life 1. Seeing the Snarks and Bull-squids from HL1 would have been great. Even better would have been if Episode 1 had some enemies and weapons from Opposing Force, but that was probably impossible for copyright reasons.
I got bored of the citadel in og half-life 2, just felt really bland and boring. So it being the first chunk of episode one wasn’t doing it for me.
I like fighting the ant lions cause it reminds me of starship troopers. But I DONT like having to close the holes with the gray gun and cars, thought it was kinda lame.
episode 1 was so bland, i barely remember any of it
I never played the episodes, about to play episode two after finishing one. Underwhelming at best and frustrating at worst. That last fight with the strider was just a slog, mostly an environmental clusterf***.
The part in the core was simply amazing. The rest? Meh.
So weird they did this. I don’t like this since it’s basically dlc so and can’t be a new game just new maps and cutscenes
...that's called an expansion pack
Hellloooou
Episode 1 was alright i guess, nothing spectacular. Episode 2 on the other hand is my favourite Half-Life game.
Worst HL game - Opposing Force by far lol
Worst HL opinion by far lol